OTTAWA: A 22-year-old Canadian man was found guilty on Thursday of murdering four members of a Muslim family who he ran over with his truck in 2021.

The jury took around six hours to return its verdict on Nathaniel Veltman, who attacked the family in London, a town in Ontario province.

He faces a life imprisonment sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.

Prosecutors argued the attack was an act of terrorism, saying Veltman’s own writings showed he was a white nationalist who opposed mass immigration.

Five members of the Afzaal family were out for an evening walk near their home in June 2021 when Veltman ran over them with his truck on the sidewalk.

Salman Afzaal, his wife, their daughter, and Afzaal’s mother were killed, while the couple’s nine-year-old boy suffered serious injuries. Veltman was also found guilty of one charge of attempted murder.

It was the worst attack against Canadian Muslims since a man gunned down six members at a Quebec City mosque in 2017.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2023